Favorite Gene Stories - Here are a some of the contest entries so far.

You don't know me, but....

Okay, mine takes place back in 2006/2007.
It was just after Brendon Small had hired Gene to drum for the first
Dethalbum. It was back when we all had MySpace pages. Well, I had this
cute cat photo as my avatar-cat with it's tongue out about to take a drink.
Gene must have been checking out some of the Dethklok fans on MS. Because
I got a PM out of the clear blue from him. He started out with "You don't
know me, but...."

Not know him!??! Well, I spazzed a bit, alright more than a bit. I'm
afraid my message back had a few misspellings. I may have been 51, but
something like that can make me 16 again. We exchanged a few PMs then and
I PM'ed him a couple of times over the year. (Including an exchange
prompted by someone posting on his Wikipedia page that he had died in a car
crash in Canada. Sort of "Are you dead?")

Forward to Nov. 2, 2007 and Berkeley, CA. I had decided at the last minute
to fly from New York to Berkeley to catch Dethklok during the first tour.
Partly because US Berkeley was one of the few stops you didn't need to be a
student to get in and Nov. 2nd is my birthday. Had to have Dethklok play
Birthday/Dethday for my day! So I PMed Gene and Brendon one more time with
the news there was going to be a crazy New Yorker at Berkeley.

Now, I have asthma and everything was uphill of my hotel, specially the
block the venue was one. So I was huffing up the hill and stopped to catch
my breath. It slowly dawned on me that there was this bus parked a few
yards ahead of me. Took a moment for it click that it had "Adult Swim
Presents" on the front. THEIR BUS!!! And then I noticed there was a tall,
long haired beard man talking on a cell phone by the bus. Could it be?
Yep!

I started up the hill again and as I got closer, the man ended his phone
call. I asked, or huffed more likely, "Would you happen to be Gene Hoglan?"
He replied "You wouldn't happen to be Holly Kim?" Busted!

I was a bit too star struck to chat long. So I didn't ask him for an
autograph then, but headed up to line up for the show. I've since got to
see him again for Dethklok shows in NYC (didn't have the money to see him
with other bands sadly. Wanted to very much.) And am planning to see
Dethklok again this tour, thanks to an early birthday gift from my brother.
- Holly Kim Wilson

Weren't metal fans but rockin out anyway!

I'll never forget the day I got the DVD in the mail; FINALLY I was going to
be able to see Strapping Young Lad live. I was still in college at the
time-- a small school in the boonies of Maryland-- and I was the only one
home. I popped the DVD in, cranked the sound, and got ready for some fury.
The shit got real. I fucking loved it. but what I loved MOST was the
drumming. Now, I'm not a drummer. But I was feelin the tunes so hard, that
I started, on the fly, assembling a makeshift drum kit out of all the
garbage in the room. (typical messy college kids): Boxes, dirty glasses,
bowls, and styrofoam containers were my landscape. All i needed were
drumsticks, which I found in two fake plastic flower stems, complete with
thorns. I was ROCKING THE FUCK OUT, with my eyes closed, body parts
thrashing everywhere, when my roommates came in. I didnt know they were
there, because the music was so loud, but when I finally opened my eyes, i
saw my two roomates (who WEREN'T metal fans at ALL).. they were headbanging
and air guitaring like crazy!!! they were gettin down!!! We were all
rocking the fuck out. That shit was badass, and i'll never forget it.
- Best, Frank Robert Perilla

My First Concert

My first metal concert was seeing Anthrax, Testament (with Gene) and Death
Angel at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey last November. It was
incredible.

I arrived at the venue a bit more than four hours before doors, and managed
to meet Eric Petersen and Chuck Billy across the street, where they were
doing a promo for Dean Guitars. But the man I was really looking
forward to seeing was Gene Hoglan. Ironically, at the time of the show, I
was far more familiar with Gene than with the rest of Testament,
knowing only Testament's Souls of Black and The Formation of Damnation,
while being a huge fan of Gene's work in Death, Strapping Young Lad,
Dethklok, and especially DARK ANGEL. In fact, I'm wearing my Darkness
Descends t-shirt as I write this; it's my favorite band shirt and one of my
favorite albums.

As luck would have it, despite not being able to afford the Testament
meet-and-greet package, they did a photoshoot right inside the venue, only
a few yards away from my position at the front of the line waiting to get
in. Me and a couple of other people in line were in awe at seeing Gene, and
we jumped up and down outside yelling "HOGLAN! DARK ANGEL!!". He turned
around and looked at us but I don't think he could hear us.

Once I got into the venue, I secured a spot on the center of the rail soon
after Death Angel's set, as the couple in front of me (workers at the
venue, not a fan of the bands) couldn't handle the moshing and crowd
surfers and left. When Testament got on, I was immediately blown away by
Gene. Testament is probably more famous for Eric Petersen's riffs and Alex
Skolnick's solos, but everything else paled in front of the power and
precision of The Atomic Clock himself. It was brutal as hell and the pit
was insane, driven, I'd say, mostly by Gene's masterful rhythmic assault.
When they started playing D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate), pandemonium
would be an understatement to describe the fury of the audience.

After their set, the members of the band all came out and my friends and I
were thrusting the horns out chanting "HOG-LAN! HOG-LAN!" Gene saw us and
grinned.

My friend Gabe took a picture of him giving his trademark pentagram sign to
the crowd, and we figured out how to do it so that we have the proper way
to salute our drumming idol when we see him again in New Jersey in October.
- Kushal Naik

Crush Extreme

The memory is so clear- I was at The Toronto Opera House, busting though my
skin to Strapping Young Lad and primed to crush the most sacred pit in
Ontario's most sacred venue. I had been 'relentlessly' playing the City
album and "For those about to rock" set on my own drum kit, even started
open hand playing on my kit that was set up EXACTLY like Gene's.

After turning around from the merch booth, I saw the mountain of a man
standing in a black trench coat, boots, black shades, handle bar mo and the
black SYL hat. I asked him if I could trade him for his hat if I bought
one, he obliged. After traveling the world and metalfests around the world
(including Norway and Australia), I had one of my best mates Todd Hansen
(The Berzerker, Man Must Die, Amplitusion, ROME) get my hat signed by Gene
almost 10 years later at Sick Drummer Camp.

Gene's contribution to SYL still blows my mind, I still give my all to
shred it as I'm double kicking at 6'5" 290 lbs; perhaps I can try out for
SYL if they ever team up again.

Thanks for the inspiration, the hat is on my alter of metal in my own
studio. CRUSH EXTREME GENE!

-KAKAKAKA!!!! Big Jim

Birthday To Remember

Gene once played a birthday party in my living rm. back in the early 90s.
He was with Dark Angel at the time but that night he played with the
VIOLATERS also know as F.U.B.A.R with the late great Gonzo on vocals. The
video is on you tube. Any ways it was an awesome night for everyone thanks
to Gene and Gonzo and everyone else, thanks again for making my friends
birthday a night to remember.
- Curtis Townsend

Being Gene

I used to do an internet radio show and had the opportunity to interview
Gene when he was touring with SYL on the "Alien" tour. We met him in
London at the Astoria and was led into a dingy changing room where Gene
gave us about an hour of his time and regaled us with stories of touring
with Dark Angel with an arm that was asleep, meeting Devin Townsend for the
first time, how playing uber technical metal was "not rocket science!" and
his love of Stevie Wonder!

After which, he invited us to the sound check where we stood open mouthed
and astonished by the sheer power of the band.

Years later, I ran into Gene at the Bloodstock festival in 2010. He had
been playing with Fear Factory and was wandering around the arena looking
for a place to buy cigarettes.

"Gene, do you remember me, I interviewed you at the astoria years ago!" I
asked

"Yep, i remember you... You seem to have put on a few pounds since then."

Yeah... shit just got real! Gene called ME a fat bastard!

Gotta love him tho, he was a gentleman and tried to get me backstage for
the after show party, but security was not having any of it, So I said my
goodbyes and went back to the entertainments of the festival grinning from
ear to ear.

"hey, are you Gene Hoglan!?" some random person under the influence of
alcohol asked me.

"yes... yes I am!" i replied and proceeded to drink the rest of his beer :)

Gene, you are a gentleman and a legend. Luv ya dude! \m/
- Digideus (Jeff)

Gentleman Gene

I've been a fan of Gene's since I heard "The Philosopher" for the first
time! Since then I've followed his work with Testament, SYL and others,
always with high expectations... And every time I've been blown away.
I've had the pleasure of meeting Gene one time back in 2006. It was
at "Hultsfredfestivalen" in Sweden. Gene was there playing with SYL (who
kicked ass by the way). Me and a couple of friends where watching Deftones,
who also played the festival, when we spotted Gene in the audience. We
approached him and had a quick chat and had him sign my Alien CD. He was
really friendly and down to earth... A true gentleman, especially
considering we just interrupted him watching the Deftones concert.

Regards
Claes

Always Something New

Dear Gene,

Never before listening to Death's 1995 release 'Symbolic' had I heard a
drummer set the tone of an album. Your elaborate, odd timed technique
compliments the complex song writing on this album with such fluidity and
also has the addition of not sounding like a triggered machine. The
drumming on this album gives the music a certain atmosphere which blends
perfectly with the rest of the band. Each riff progression has so many
original approaches and the rhythms fluctuate flawlessly, this is why
'Symbolic' is still one of my favourite albums to spin. Every time I listen
to it there's always something I've missed. Something new. Thanks Gene for
years of enjoyment and for many more to come!